Precious metals ended lower on Wednesday as oil prices fell and the U.S. dollar climbed. Gold futures marked a third straight day of declines and settled at an almost two-week low.
Gold for February delivery lost $8.20, or 0.8%, to end at $1,059.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price was the lowest since Dec. 17.
"What you’re seeing in ETFs continuing to grind lower is a reflection of how much gold is falling out of favor," Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Alliance Financial LLC in Chicago, said in a telephone interview according to Bloomberg News. "Low inflation, slow growth, moderately increasing interest rates. Where’s the fear in the market? There is none, so gold will continue to grind lower."
Gold prices traded from a low of $1,058.50 to a high of $1,071.50. They slipped 30 cents on Tuesday and declined $7.60, or 0.7%, on Monday.
Silver for March delivery shed 8.6 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $13.842 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $13.75 to $13.99. They edged up 0.3% in the previous session and tumbled 3.4% on Monday.
In PGM futures on Wednesday:
-
April platinum lost $19.60, or 2.2%, to $872.60 an ounce, trading between $853.40 and $895.90.
- Palladium for March delivery fell $7.40, or 1.3%, to $548.95 an ounce, ranging from $547.65 to $562.95.
London Precious Metals Prices
Earlier fixed London gold and silver prices declined. In comparing their levels from Tuesday PM to Wednesday PM:
- Gold fell $10.10, or 0.9%, to $1,060 an ounce.
- Silver fell 11 cents, or 0.8%, to $13.82 an ounce.
LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.
US Mint Bullion Coin Sales
United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged as of 3:05 PM ET. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold last week, last month, in December and the year to date. Products with an asterisk (*) have sold out.
| US Mint Bullion Sales (# of coins) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday / This Week | Last Week | Nov Sales | Dec Sales | YTD Sales | |
| $50 American Eagle 1 Oz Gold Coins* | N/A | N/A | 80,500 | N/A | 626,500 |
| $25 American Eagle 1/2 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 7,000 | 1,000 | 75,000 |
| $10 American Eagle 1/4 Oz Gold Coins* | N/A | N/A | 12,000 | N/A | 158,000 |
| $5 American Eagle 1/10 Oz Gold Coins* | N/A | N/A | 100,000 | N/A | 980,000 |
| $50 American Buffalo 1 Oz Gold Coins | 0 | 0 | 38,000 | 1,500 | 220,500 |
| $1 American Eagle 1 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | N/A | 4,824,000 | 2,333,500 | 47,000,000 |
| 2015 Homestead 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | 35,000 | |||
| 2015 Kisatchie 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 42,000 | ||||
| 2015 Blue Ridge Parkway 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | ||||
| 2015 Bombay Hook 5 Oz Silver Coins* | 45,000 | ||||
| 2015 Saratoga 5 Oz Silver Coins* | N/A | 35,800 | 9,200 | 45,000 | |
